Baby C's 1st 2 Weeks

41 Weeks with Mommy

Our first week as a family of 5 was... crazy!  As I mentioned in my post about Baby C's arrival, I did something to my neck while I was in labor.  Not cool.  My neck felt sore right after Baby C was born, and was terribly painful for my entire hospital stay.  The nurses were really great about trying to find something to provide me with some pain relief, but nothing worked very well.  We came home from the hospital on Monday, and my neck started to feel a lot better Monday afternoon.  But as soon as I went to bed Monday night it was super painful again.  And that pretty much lasted for the next week.  Standing up or even sitting up without leaning my head on something for more than a few minutes was super painful.  As the pain diminished a bit over the week I started getting these really intense head rushes when I would stand up, or after I had been up for too long.  Not ideal when you're caring for a newborn, much less have two older kids to take care of.  Luckily my mom was here with us for most of the first week, and E has been working shorter days for most of the past two weeks, so I have had help.

41 Weeks with Daddy

It also helps that (so far) Baby C has been such a sweet girl.  I feel like she had a big cry for a newborn, but she doesn't cry all that often.  As I write this, the two of us are hanging out on the deck (she's sleeping).  E took the big girls to the pool, so we're enjoying some quiet time.  Our first night home from the hospital was a little rough (our neighbors mentioned they could hear her crying... sorry neighbors!).  Baby C was up a lot.  I think my milk came in that night, and it threw her off a little bit.  Other than that night, Baby C has been a great sleeper!  She's sleeping 3-5 hour stretches at night which has been amazing for me.  She wakes up, eats and goes right back to sleep.  Her big sisters weren't terrible sleepers, but Baby C has been so easy.  I know it could change any time, but I'm SO thankful that she was sleeping well at night when I was having my neck issues.  I have been feeling pretty well rested these first two weeks which has helped a lot during the days with all three girls.  

Baby C has also taken to nursing really well.  I was a little worried that I had forgotten what to do with a newborn, but it all came back pretty quickly once Baby C was here.  During the day she eats every 2-3 hours, more frequently in the morning and at night, but I think that's to make up for the longer stretches at night.  E has been watching The Walking Dead on Netflix, and has taken to calling Baby C a zombie because she tries to eat him when she gets hungry.  Other than that she hasn't really gotten any nicknames yet.    

1 Week Old!

Big sisters have been pretty excited to have Baby C here.  My mom helped the girls decorate the house and pick out some presents for Baby C when we got home.  So cute!  Our dining room was decorated with lots and lots of pink! Miss A had initially wanted a baby brother (I already have a sister, I don't need another one she told us) but for the past few months she's been hoping for another sister.  Little J would pretty much agree with whatever Miss A said.  So they were both happy to find out we had a girl.  Both girls like to hold her, though Little J is usually done after about 10 seconds.  Little J also likes to help find baby's "nuga" (pacifier... not sure where she came up with "nuga" but we're going with it).

During our first week home Miss A and Little J figured out pretty quickly that when Mommy is feeding the baby they can get away with a lot more.  For example, one day I found Little J dumping water all over the floor in her room while Miss A watched.  Of course there were also toys all over the floor.  I've been letting them watch cartoons with me while I feed Baby C sometimes, which keeps them busy and not making a mess.  Overall Little J seems to be having a harder time with the transition, but it hasn't been too bad.  I'm trying to fit in some extra time to snuggle her in the mornings or at night, and that seems to help.  This second week we also managed trips to the grocery store, park and library on different days, and that helped all of us a lot!  Just an hour break from the house during the day makes such a big difference.  The big girls have also gotten to do a few fun trips with Daddy which they enjoyed.  E and Miss A went to a Vikings game last week, and E took both girls to see Despicable Me 2 at Target Field with a couple of friends and their daughters, and Como Zoo with their cousins this week.  Last night we managed to go out for dinner (Baby C slept through the whole thing) and this morning we hiked around Minnehaha Falls.  Looks like Baby C will be